G20 presidency rotational, inevitable; govt indulging in ‘high voltage drama’: Congress

Shubhadeep Choudhury                                                                                                

New Delhi, December 2

Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of creating a “high voltage drama” out of a routine affair, Jairam Ramesh, Congress party general secretary (in-charge of communications) said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani had rightly described Modi as a “brilliant event manager”.

“The Presidency of G20 is rotational and India’s Presidency was inevitable. Previous presidents of G20 have been USA, UK, Canada, South Korea, France, Mexico, Russia, Australia, Turkey, China, Germany, Argentina, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Italy and Indonesia. None of these countries staged a high voltage drama as is being done around India becoming President of G20 for a year. I’m reminded of what LK Advani said on 5.4.2014 in Gandhinagar—he called Mr.Modi a brilliant event manager. That’s all there is to all the spin around G20”, Ramesh today said in multiple tweets.

The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies. The group comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union.

After India formally took over the G20 presidency on Thursday, it was announced that 100 monuments across the country, including UNESCO world heritage sites, would be lit up to celebrate the momentous occasion.

Describing the assumption of India’s G20 presidency as a “huge” responsibility, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said that as G20 president Modi would be setting the agenda of the world.